NRL SuperCoach study guide 2018: Gold Coast Titans
WITH a new coach, new staff and plenty of new faces it’s going to be a transition period yet again for the Titans in 2018 with the lure of SuperCoach gold waiting to be unearthed.
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THE Titans are probably eager to forget the events of 2017, with the sacking of their coach the major lowlight of the year.
With new coach, new staff and plenty of new faces (have a peek below at their “ins and outs” for this year!) it’s going to be a transition period yet again for the Titans as they find yet again that they will be developing new defensive combinations.
As always there could be some SuperCoach gold waiting to be unearthed for Round 1 teams.
START PLAYING SUPERCOACH NOW WITH OUR 2018 TEAM PICKER
BEST 17
1. Michael Gordon 2. Brenko Lee 3. Dale Copley 4. Konrad Hurrell 5. Anthony Don (Brendan Elliott for Round 1) 6. Kane Elgey 7. Ashley Taylor 8. Jarrod Wallace (from Round 3) 9. Nathan Peats 10. Leilani Latu 11. Ryan James 12. Kevin Proctor 13. Jai Arrow 14. Mitch Rein 15. Jack Stockwell 16. Joe Greenwood 17. Max King/Morgan Boyle
Who’s left: Alexander Brimson, Kiah Cooper, Brendan Elliott, Keegan Hipgrave, Karl Lawton, Tony Mata’utia, John Olive, Tyronne Roberts-Davis, Phillip Sami, Ryan Simpkins, Jai Whitbread
PLAYER MOVEMENTS
Ins: Jai Arrow (Brisbane Broncos, 2020), Brendan Elliot (Newcastle Knights, 2018), Moeaki Fotuaika (2021), Michael Gordon (Sydney Roosters, 2019), Keegan Hipgrave (Brisbane Broncos, 2018), Leilani Latu (Penrith Panthers, 2020), Brenton Lawrence (Manly Sea Eagles, 2018), Brenko Lee (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, 2018), Mitch Rein (Penrith Panthers, 2018), Jack Stockwell (Newcastle Knights, 2018)
Outs: Tyler Cornish (released), Chris Grevsmuhl (released), Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels), Chris McQueen (Wests Tigers), Ben Nakubuwai (Salford Red Devils), Agnatius Paasi (New Zealand Warriors), Nathaniel Peteru (Leeds Rhinos), Leivaha Pulu (New Zealand Warriors), Tyrone Roberts (Warrington Wolves), Dan Sarginson (Wigan Warriors), Paterika Vaivai (Leigh Centurions), Daniel Vidot (retired), William Zillman (released)
BYE
Round 13
GUNS
Ryan James (FRF, $530,100)
2017 average: 59.7
It is a little bit sad that in the whole Titans team, no player averaged above 60 points per game which is already a lenient cut-off for “gun” status. Nevertheless, James is only one season removed from being the third highest SuperCoach points scorer so we’ll cut him some slack. However, 2018 may not be the year where he returns to proper gun status unless the Titans are able to get their act together. James’ most consistent SuperCoach performances have been when he has played in the middle of the park as a prop; his new coach however has all but confirmed that James will shift back to the left edge backrower position beside Kane Elgey (most likely). Will the last two years in the middle, as well as the added burden of captaincy, increase his workrate and effectiveness on the edge?
LISTEN!!! The podcast team dissect important pre-season news and reveal their early picks for 2018.
PODS
Konrad Hurrell (CTW, $474,300)
2017 average: 53.4
‘Koni’ remains one of the NRL’s more entertaining personalities both on and off the field, but arguably his off-field antics have been talked about more than his on-field performances in recent years. At his best, Hurrell is a SuperCoach stat magnet, with plenty of willing carries from his own end, sometimes averaging a tackle bust on almost every run, and sometimes exhibits pure power to get himself over the tryline. At his worst, he is lazy, injury-prone and often goes missing due to being confined to one side of the field. We saw glimpses of his best last year for the Titans, but they did coincide often with Jarryd Hayne showing glimpses of his best too. The question is, will Koni get his act together in 2018? If he does, he will easily eclipse his 53.4 points per game average from last year and could serve as a season-defining POD.
CHEAPIES
Leilani Latu (FRF, $270,500)
2017 average: 30.5
Latu showed some real promise when given an opportunity in 2016, playing big minutes, getting through work and also showing off some silky smooth passing skills. In fact, in 2016 he had a nine-game stretch where he was playing around 50 minutes and averaged just over 56 points per game. It shows that when Latu is given minutes, he can score well. Coming off a poor year where he didn’t get much time in the Panthers pack, there’s certainly an exciting opportunity for Latu to make his mark — especially from the opening rounds where Jarrod Wallace will also be suspended. Shout out here to Jai Arrow as well, who basically fits a similar bill to Latu but is just priced a little too high to be considered a cheapie (Latu is already cheating!).
NO-GO ZONE
Ashley Taylor (HFB, $471,500)
2017 average: 53.1
He didn’t quite suffer from Second Year Syndrome but the rigours of carrying the Titans, as well as the ongoing contract speculation, clearly played on the young playmaker’s mind from time to time. He certainly showed signs of brilliance, especially with some of his kicking game, but the consistency is still lacking overall. So why is he a definite no-go? Well, he will almost certainly have lost the kicking duties (which he already shared from time to time with Elgey and/or Roberts) to the newly-arrived Michael Gordon, a stat that boosted his averaged by almost five points per game last year. That will be hard to replace, so please stay away!